Beshear, a Potential Harris V.P. Pick, Rallies Democrats in Deep-Red Iowa

Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, in contention to be Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate on the Democratic ticket, tried out for the post in Iowa on Saturday by going after the man he would face on the Republican ticket, telling Iowa Democrats that Senator JD Vance of Ohio has “contrived” his claims to be from Appalachia.

“He ain’t gonna be your vice president,” Mr. Beshear told a standing, cheering crowd of around 450 of Iowa’s top Democratic Party supporters. Mr. Beshear headlined the state party’s Liberty & Justice fund-raiser in Des Moines, which sought to energize voters in the run-up to the November general election.

After a bruising 2024 legislative session overseen by the state’s Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, and a majority Republican Legislature, Democratic lawmakers have been desperate for the voter energy they said they had seen since the Harris announcement.

“There’s just a sense of, OK, the election is starting now,” State Senator Nate Boulton of Des Moines, the Democratic whip, said just before the event.

Mr. Boulton, who is up for re-election in November, said that while Ms. Harris had a large pool of promising candidates for her vice-presidential pick, he was excited about Mr. Beshear’s ability to win twice in a deep-red state like Kentucky.

“I think that’s a story we’re looking for here in Iowa,” he said.

Though Mr. Beshear has shown off his chops as an attack dog in recent days, his message to Iowa Democrats also invoked calls for unity and kindness.

“We are called to love and get along with every other human being in this country and across our globe,” he said.

But his biggest applause lines came when he described Ms. Harris as both tough and caring.

“In November, we are going to win and get back to